Linda Puga
campus editor
A lecture from a parent or guardian can leave feelings of hurt and disappointment, which can often cause emotional wounds.
Parents, regardless of how often you see your children, remember they are people with their own thoughts and feelings, which go unknown behind closed doors.
Sometimes there’s not much that I can do, and sometimes I’m not OK, but they don’t see that. Instead, they see right past me and a day spent crying is masked with a “My day was good” at the dinner table.
An achievement that might mean nothing to a parent means the world to their child. A great test grade is overlooked, a college acceptance letter is shrugged off and an amazing opportunity is insignificant in their eyes.
I’m a first-generation college student and the oldest sibling in the family. I get it. I’m held to a higher standard because I’m capable of more, even though I’ve never been able to reach that caliber. I haven’t been able to live up to the expectations surrounding me.
No one deserves to feel invalidated or should feel the need to apologize because others judge their circumstances. Sometimes all a child needs from their parents is grace. An “I’m proud of you” goes a long way when they are feeling beat down, unworthy and unmotivated.
The words a parent speaks to their teenager or young adult will always stay with them and cause insecurity or a sense of resentment. The comparisons a parent makes between you and a sibling, another family member or whoever it may be, only serves as a reminder of everything you aren’t.
They don’t understand me, and that’s OK. I am on my own timeline. I have every right to feel stressed, angry, anxious, sad and unhappy for hours, days and even weeks. My mistakes, failures and losses are making me a better person in the long run.
I know they mean well and I acknowledge that I have to do better too, but sometimes I need reassurance, not correction. Is that too much to ask for?
